In a telecommunications network, it is often desirable to send the same message to a group of recipients. Methods are known for establishing a group of message recipients as a multicast group. Such a group of recipients share a common group address for receiving messages sent to the multicast group. A message designated as a multicast message can then be sent to all members of the multicast group by simply addressing the message to the group address.
Message transmission in a telecommunications network occurs over a variety of physical media. For example, a telecommunications network may include wireless communication networks. Wireless communication networks are notable because message transmission occurs over a wireless connection via a radio channel, rather than via a physically conductive, or wired connection which is common in a telecommunications network. In a typical wireless communication network, a base station processor is in communication with a plurality of subscriber access units (subscribers). The base station processor also maintains a wired connection to the telecommunications network. Each of the subscriber access units is connected to a plurality of user computing devices, such as user PCs. In this manner, a user computing device is provided a wireless connection to a telecommunications network through the subscriber access unit and the base station processor in wireless communication with the subscriber access unit.
A base station processor includes a plurality of wireless channels for message transmission between the base station processor and the subscriber access units. Such wireless channels are a scarce resource in a base station processor. Accordingly, the base station processor allocates the wireless channels among the subscriber access units on a periodic basis as the users demand access.
A multicast message received by a base station processor may require delivery to a multiple of the subscriber access units which are members of a multicast group. In a typical base station processor, a separate channel is allocated for each of the subscriber access units that is a member of the multicast group. The multicast message therefore must be sent, in an iterative manner, to each of the subscriber access units over a separate dedicated channel allocated for each subscriber access unit. In this manner, a multicast message results in duplicate channel allocation and duplicate message transmission for each group member when a multicast message is received by the base station processor for delivery to each of the subscriber access units in the multicast group.